The infamous drug kingpin known as "El Chapo" has been captured after nearly six months on the run, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto said Friday.

Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the leader of the Sinaloa cartel, escaped from a maximum security prison near Mexico City in July by climbing down a hole in his cell that connected to an elaborate tunnel system.

A Mexican law enforcement official said authorities located Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman several days ago, based on reports that he was in Los Mochis, Sinaloa.

Authorities even searched storm drains in the area, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Mexican news outlets shared what was purportedly the first photos of Guzman after his arrest.

Guzman escaped from the Altiplano maximum security prison near Mexico City in July, riding a motorcycle through a mile-long tunnel that opened into the shower area of his cell. He was last seen on security footage taken in the shower area of the prison, before slipping out of sight and into the tunnel.

It was not the first time El Chapo had escaped prison and evaded police though, this time, his freedom was short lived.

Guzman was arrested in Guatemala in 1993 on drug-trafficking charges, before being extradited to Mexico and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was sent to the Puente Grande maximum security prison in Jalisco state, from which he escaped with the help of prison guards, allegedly by hiding in a laundry cart.

What followed what a 13-year police chase that culminated in Guzman's capture in Mazatlán, Mexico, in February 2014.

U.S. and Mexican officials initially reveled in his capture, hailing it as an achievement in Mexico's battle against drug cartels. But just one month after he was locked up, Guzmán and his associates on the outside were already planning his escape.

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